Marketing and Advertising Leadership in the Modern Era – A New Dynamic

With the marketing and advertising industry being the first to stay abreast with trends, it’s important that leaders are continuously up to speed. In what ways are you staying ahead?

Constantly evolving and staying in tune with consumers’ expectations and interests is essential to staying ahead! In recent years, we’ve evolved beyond traditional advertising methods to more experiential and immersive ones to cut through the advertising clutter and connect with consumers in more impactful ways. Since we launched our iconic Priceless platform – which started as an ad 27 years ago – we’ve continuously evolved it to align with the cultural zeitgeist. The platform’s enduring success lies in our ability to adapt it to meet consumers’ changing wants and needs.

To stay on top of changes, we look at two critical areas: how can we adopt and understand emerging technologies and how can we create authentic purpose within our marketing. Combining both is where the magic happens.

A great example of this is the Mastercard Artist Accelerator—a music and technology program designed to help emerging artists harness cutting-edge tools like NFTs, Blockchain, and AI to thrive in the digital age. Now in our second season, we’re collaborating with five incredible artists, supporting them on tour and assisting them with innovative tools like our AI music studio. Fans who sign up for the program can follow the artists’ journeys and gain access to the tools.

As a leader in the modern era, specifically in the marketing and advertising industry, do you feel it is important to take risks to ensure positive results as a team leader? Do you believe this leads to growth? 

Leaders need to constantly evolve with the marketplace. Learning is critical, and it is essential to do the hard work to understand the challenges people are facing in their everyday lives. I have found that helping to address those challenges—and fill the gaps we find—is not only incredibly meaningful to me and my team but it’s also good for our business.

Taking risks and being seen as a bold, brave brand has been part of our strategy- but it only works when it authentically aligns with our core values. For example, our True Name initiative exemplifies how we drive real impact in people’s lives while staying true to our values and commitment to decency. The True Name card empowers transgender and non-binary individuals to display their chosen name on payment cards, enhancing their sense of identity. Despite facing backlash, we stood by our commitment to inclusivity and allowing everyone to thrive in the digital economy. It was a risk worth taking.

Similarly, our Touch Card feature is a set of distinctive tactile notches designed to help individuals who are blind or partially sighted identify their card type by touch, thereby enhancing both accessibility and independence. In developing the Touch Card feature, we ventured into uncharted territory by altering the card’s shape, which presented a substantial risk in terms of production and customer adoption. Yet, because we deeply believed in its potential, we pushed forward, and today it is a success in over 50 countries!

With something as broad as communication in the workplace changing – (i.e., sending a teams ping while in the same office, remote work, etc.), it is inevitable to find challenges, especially when working creatively. How are you, as a leader, ensuring junior staff are supported in this new digital era as communication has changed so drastically within the last two decades?

Since the pandemic, there’s been a dramatic shift in how and where we work, and it’s been an adjustment for everyone. I thrive on the energy of my team and believe that great ideas, inclusive thinking, and powerful creativity stem from collaborative idea-building.

As a global team with members around the world, we’re committed to fostering a culture of learning among all levels. We do this through hosting educational sessions and courses, providing resources and tools, and holding department-wide, global innovation challenges.

The Mastercard Artist Accelerator originated from one of these innovation challenges, which were created to help team members step out of their day jobs and put their creativity to the test around hot topics. The Accelerator was the idea of one of our amazing junior team members, who also has a passion for music. She not only pitched the concept but saw it through to fruition – an incredible experience!